A blast of winter weather caused misery for motorists after the first major snow storms of the year.

Teessiders are bracing themselves for further freezing conditions in coming days amid severe weather warnings for ice.

Health chiefs have also urged people to take care as temperatures plunge.

It comes after snow showers and high winds caused travel disruption on Thursday, with roads closed due to snow and flooding caused by heavy rain.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for ice in the North-east on Friday. Drivers were urged to be aware of the likelihood of “difficult driving conditions”.

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Paul Gundersen, chief operational meteorologist at the Met Office said: “It will turn much colder for all parts of England over the next few days.

“Spells of sleet and snow at the start of the period will become increasingly confined to the North Sea coast and hills, giving way to cold, crisp days and sharp overnight frosts with a risk of ice.

“Frosts may also be severe at times, particularly where there is lying snow. Public Health England issued a “level 3” cold weather alert for the North-east."

Paul Davison, from the PHE, said: “Many places are going to feel really cold for the next few days, which may be a bit of a shock after our recent milder weather, so it’s really important people take extra care when out and about.”

Further “snow flurries” are expected on Friday while temperatures are not expected to rise much above zero.

During Thursday's disruption, Longbeck Road in Marske was closed in both directions due to flooding between the A174 at Gurney Street and Sherwood Drive, near the railway line.

Snow in Guisborough on Thursday

The Trunk Road in Redcar between Street House Roundbout and Ennis Road closed due to flooding at around 1.30pm.

Also closed because of flooding was the underpass from Laburnum Road to Castle Road in Redcar.

An accident before 8am partially blocked Birk Brow near Guisborough, but the road was quickly fully reopened.

It came amid warnings about hazardous driving conditions on Birk Brow Road, the A171 between Whitby Road and Stanghow Road.

The bottom of Birkbrow on Thursday morning (Photo: Skelton Coaches)

Then, several hours later, the road was closed again after reports of a number of lorries “getting stuck” due to worsening conditions. There were also reports of standing water and reduced visibility from snow and spray on the A174.

Rail services saw delays between Middlesbrough and Saltburn, also due to flooding, meaning trains had to travel at slower speeds.

Cleveland Police advised motorists to allow more time for their journeys and to leave enough stopping distance between vehicles on the roads.

In Windsor Road, Saltburn, Cleveland Fire Brigade was called out after a member of the public raised concerns over possible loose tiles on a building. Motorists also reported delays on the A19 into Middlesbrough.